


The Sand of Mallorca

by Cyaoxo



Series: The Waves of Mallorca [1]
Category: Gymnastics RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2012-12-29
Packaged: 2017-11-22 21:43:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/614669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyaoxo/pseuds/Cyaoxo





	The Sand of Mallorca

After an hour Viktoria lost count of the number of waves that had crashed against the rocks under her feet and the sand started to feel like a soft cushion that protected her from the harsh reality that awaited a few feet away. She kept her eyes locked onto the moon, wishing for an instant to stay there forever; on that little island so different from her home. 

The subtle essence of salt traveled through her nose fighting against her eyes for a way out; she didn’t let it win, she keep the salt inside corroding the cracks of her small body. 

The smell, the moon, the waves, it all reminded Viktoria of another place, of another time. A time where the waves crashed against two bodies instead of rocks and the salt was never able to make her way inside, to slow to surpass the quick kisses that keep it away. 

The distant sound of laughter reached her ears at the same time some droplets of water touched her lips like a ghost of the kisses that no longer were possible. Aliya was running around the improvised bonfire with a pair of strong arms holding her close around the waist. No so long ago Vika’s slender fingers were the only ones allowed to touch her.

She was hurting but deep inside knew she had no right. Aliya was hers to take; the only reason she didn’t have her by her side at that exact minute, holding her close to the chest as she used to, was her own stubbornness. Her inability to surpass fear. She was the only one to blame for the heartache that attacked both of them. 

One year before she had sat on that same beach with a broken heart, only it was for a different reason. Now she knew that what she felt at the time was not even close to the pain caused by a real heartbreak; she feared this time nobody would be able to put the pieces together again like Aliya had done at the time. 

It seemed so silly now, to have been crying for days over the loss of a medal. At the time not even the perspective of spending a month of vacation with her friends seemed to cheer her up. 

By the time they reached Mallorca the coaches had stopped telling her how amazing she had been on the World Championship All Around Final, stopped repeating that the loss was unfair, and mentioning the chance at redemption that she would have in less than a year.

She was so grateful when that happened that she almost let a smile escape once in a while. Not having to deal with everybody's expectations helped. At Tokyo every word, every attempt at consoling her, only served to make the sense of failure that followed her since that day and that she despised so much come back stronger than before. But at Mallorca the air was lighter and the ocean was soothing in a way that she had never experienced. 

What helped her the most, was Aliya. Aliya and her determination to make her feel better, Aliya and the nights they spend sneaking out together, Aliya and those eyes that made her feel beautiful with just one look, Aliya and the sweet words whispered against her ear, Aliya and the kisses she planted at the corner of her mouth. The same kisses that finally, one night, were just a little bit more to the left that they should have been. 

What healed Vika completely was the feel of a pair of hands all over her body; and the night, the stars, the waves, the moon, the breeze, the touches, that allowed her to let go, to be free for the first time in her life, while Aliya's arms held her close as she came crashing back from that surreal place she had been taken to.

The memories of that night still managed to make her tremble from head to toe, and she wondered if maybe there was still a chance to undo the pain she had caused Aliya and win her back.

By the bonfire the object of her obsession was listening absentmindedly to whatever words the boy next to her was using to try and charm her. Aliya had a smile on her face, but Viktoria knew her well enough to see that it was just a polite one, rather that the sweet loving one she should have been sporting. The others probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but Vika had seen that smile directed at her enough times to notice. 

It made her feel slightly better to know that Aliya didn’t smile like that for anybody else, but she feared it would happen. It seemed closer and closer every day, especially with the huge effort the boy keep making in order to win the heart of Russia’s most decorated gymnast. And to think she had pushed Aliya right into his arms. 

“Why don’t you join us? I need someone to cuddle with and you seem to be the only one available, is your duty as my best friend to make sure I am comfortable,” said Maria while taking a seat beside her. 

She couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the sides of her mouth. Maria had been her rock during the last few days, always going out of her way to make sure she was okay. 

“Masha, you have half of the men’s team falling at your feet. I am sure you can find someone to cuddle with if you really want.”

Maria’s laugh after Vika's words was muffled by the sound of a wave crashing, but the spark on her blue eyes was magnified by the reflection of the moon on her face.  
“You caught me, the truth is that if you have decided to stay here all depressed and moody while everybody else is having fun, I'm in the moral obligation to be moody and depressed with you.” 

“Masha, you couldn’t be moody and depressed even if your life depended on it”, replied Viktoria with a hint of challenge on her voice. “Well, I can always try,” said Maria while doing the most fake and hilarious pout Vika had ever seen. 

For the first time in what seemed an eternity Vika felt a warm inside that traveled from her chest to her mouth to become a burst of laughter impossible to stop. Maria always made her laugh, that was her favorite thing about her and the reason they had become best friends, Vika needed someone light and carefree to compensate for her more than common bursts of sadness. 

Her laughter died soon; unfortunately, the heaviness that accompanied her remained. She took Maria's hand and looked up to the moon again while mumbling a faint thank you. 

Maria took their joined hands and planted a kiss on the tip of Vika’s fingers while looking directly at her eyes. 

“I know I'm not who you really need, but it looks like you could use a hug.”

It was all the warning Vika got before the feel of two warm arms surrounded her. She decided to take the offer at comfort and buried her face on the crook of Maria’s neck. The sound of Aliya’s heart steady beating had always been the only one capable of calming her, but Maria’s slightly irregular one was doing a good job so far. 

“She still loves you, you know,” Viktoria hears Maria say. And she can’t help the small smirk that tugs at her lips, although it disappears quickly with the next words of her friend. 

“But she isn’t going to wait for you forever. Right now she is doing what she thinks you want. You told her you two couldn’t be together officially like she wanted to, you told her she should find a cute boy she could introduce to her parents as she wanted to introduce you. And every minute you let her stay with that boy without doing anything about it, she is more convinced that you really don’t love her.”

Vika’s breathing had almost stopped during this speech. Her heart ached more than ever because she knew Maria was right, but the only thing she could do was hold Maria tighter.

“I'm here for you, and If you want to stay here all night I will be right by your side. But as I see it, you have two options: You can keep on hurting or you can grow a pair and tell Aliya that you love her. I will even get rid of the so-called boyfriend so you can talk alone,” continued Maria with the most serious tone Vika had ever heard from her.

Viktoria wanted to follow Maria’s advice, she really did. But the fear was to overwhelming, the uncertainty too much for her to handle. “What am I supposed to tell her Maria? How can I be as presumptuous as to expect her to forgive me after weeks of ignoring her. How do I make it right again? How can I be sure that she won’t turn me down?” 

“Really, Vika? are you going to make the same mistake twice? are you going to let fear keep you away from the chance of being happy? You know Aliya loves you, you know she will forgive you, you are just looking for excuses to sabotage yourself. You are so used to her being the one always taking chances on your relationship that you are still expecting her to come back to you, as if she could guess that you changed your mind without you telling her anything. Well, it’s not going to happen. So, suck it up and take what you want.” 

The bad thing about being so close with someone is that they know everything about you, they know how you work, how you think, and they know how to push your buttons. Viktoria had no choice but to accept that Maria was right. 

She should feel a little insulted; she could detect the hint of accusation on Maria’s voice and she didn't need her best friend to tell her she is a coward to know she was thinking it. But if she is honest with herself, she thinks she is a coward too. She had feel like one since the 1 of September, the day she broke Aliya’s heart just seconds after arriving at her lover’s hometown where she was supposed to be introduced officially as Aliya’s girlfriend to her parents.

Aliya had been so happy during the previous days, gushing about how great it would be to be finally open about their relationship. “My parents already love you, I'm sure they will be delighted to know we are dating,” she had said. 

Viktoria wasn’t so sure, but Aliya didn’t seem worried. 

“If they don’t accept us is their problem.” 

Aliya had always been the strong one, so proud and secure that other’s people expectations didn’t seem to face her. But Viktoria wasn’t like that, she had already disappointed her family by not winning at the Olympics, she wouldn’t have been able to handle the look on her mother's face if she choose to tell her about their relationship. 

She still doesn’t know how she managed to stop her voice from quivering when she broke up with Aliya, she doesn’t know how she was able to restrain the impulse of holding her when the tears and the sobs started coming. But she did. It hurt her too, more than Aliya would be able to ever imagine from the memory of Victoria’s undaunted face. 

Viktoria honestly tough it was for the better, but she never imagined losing Aliya would leave her feeling so empty, she never thought seeing her with someone else would make her feel as if a bullet had just passed through her heart. Nothing could be worse than that. She had created this mess Aliya and her where in and it was her responsibility to fix it. Thought Vika, as she stood up with new found determination.

Viktoria had to hold back a giggle at the dumfounded face Maria got when she started walking towards the group of Russian gymnasts by the fire.

“You are going to do it? Now?”

“Yes, I have to do it now before I lose my nerve again. And if she turns me down and humiliates me in front of everybody I hope you are ready to be on supportive mode for a long while.” 

“Oh! I'm always ready, but that won’t be necessary.” 

Viktoria stopped just a few steps away from her objective. Aliya was there, laughing, with her beautiful brown hair dancing at the rhythm of the sea breeze, and her eyes stealing a quick glance at Vika’s direction every once in a while. 

Viktoria took one last deep breath and at the feel of Mallorca’s smell hitting her brain she got the certainty that everything would be alright. Aliya’s eyes where now looked with hers with the intense gaze that she remembered from so many nights shared together. 

Viktoria couldn’t bring herself to stop loosing herself on those eyes, not even when she absentmindedly told Maria to help her distract the others, not when Maria responded with a kiss on the check and a “I'm on it, don’t worry they won’t know what hit them.”

She barely remembers seeing Maria running around the bonfire taking people’s hands and making them, almost forcing in some cases, go swim on the black night sea. 

She only remembers Aliya, and how the reflection of the red hues of the fire on her pale skin made her look more beautiful than ever. She remembers how she had to use every amount of will force left inside her to make her legs close the short distance between them and how when she took Aliya’s hand, even before she said anything, she knew they would be fine. 

“I have been waiting for you Vika.”


End file.
